1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns pry tools and more particularly pry tools especially adapted for dislodging concrete forms from set concrete.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Concrete shapes, such as walls and the like, are often poured on the job site with the aid of forms made of steel or the like. The forms are constructed by placing the form walls side by side, passing tie rods between the form walls, and exerting a pulling force on each tie rod to draw the forms towards one another. The tie rods are inserted through a series of parallel connecting slots that are punched through the form walls. A plurality of parallel rows of forms in end to end alignment are provided to make up a complete concrete form.
After pouring of the concrete, the forms must be dislodged from the set concrete, which task has not heretofore been able to be easily carried out without encountering considerable difficulties.
Firstly, the workers are obliged to work overhead which requires a very taxing physical effort.
Secondly, the dislodging process has been relatively slow and time-consuming since there has heretofore been no highly effective manner of engaging the forms with a pry tool. Generally, simple pry bars or crowbars have been used to pry loose the forms. However, the lip edges of the forms are not overly large to allow effective engagement of a pry bar and pry bars often cause damage to the finished concrete walls.
The resulting difficulties encountered by the construction workers renders this particular task rather labor intensive and time consuming. Also, the nature of the construction process relating to this particular stage of construction is such that it is very common for large numbers of workers to be waiting for removal of such concrete forms, this task thus representing a bottle-neck operation in the overall process.
It would be highly advantageous if this process could be carried out in a more expeditious manner since the related labor costs could be greatly reduced in those instances where large numbers of construction workers are forced to wait for the completion of this task. Also, it would be much to the advantage of the workers actually engaged in the activity since the effort involved using the tool of the present invention would reduce direct labor costs since the dislodging process would be expedited.